Shelvia Williams, Etc. v. The City of Fairburn, Georgia

702 F.2d 973, 1983 U.S. App. LEXIS 28792
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedApril 15, 1983
Docket82-8081
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 702 F.2d 973 (Shelvia Williams, Etc. v. The City of Fairburn, Georgia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shelvia Williams, Etc. v. The City of Fairburn, Georgia, 702 F.2d 973, 1983 U.S. App. LEXIS 28792 (11th Cir. 1983).

Opinions

HATCHETT, Circuit Judge:

The former Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded this case to the district court for a determination of the proper amount of reasonable attorney’s fees. Upon remand, the district court awarded less than one-fourth the requested fees. We affirm in part and remand the case to the district court to further award fees and costs.

Shelvia A. Williams, appellant, participated in the section 8 housing program provided by the Fulton County Housing Authority by occupying a private dwelling in Fairburn, Georgia.1 Approximately four months after occupying the dwelling, the City of Fairburn (City), appellee, discovered Williams’s section 8 participation and adopted a resolution which effectively banned section 8 participation within the city limits.2 Upon notification of the resolution, Williams appealed to the city council to allow her to continue participation in the program. Her appeal was rejected. She then filed a class action suit against the City contending that the City’s action had the purpose and effect of establishing and perpetuating housing discrimination in violation of constitutional and statutory [975]*975rights.3 She alleged violations under the first, thirteenth, and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, and the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 3601; 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, and 2000d. Williams sought declaratory and injunctive relief, nominal damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.

Following the filing of the suit, the City of Fairburn initiated settlement negotiations. The City, as part of the settlement, proposed a resolution authorizing the Fulton County Housing Authority to operate its section 8 program within the city limits. Williams, however, disagreed with the terms of this proposed settlement. The City disregarded Williams’s concerns and entered into the agreement with the Fulton County Housing Authority adopting a resolution effectuating the agreement. The section 8 program authorized by the resolution provided for a maximum of twenty units within the City, with fifty percent of the units to be occupied by handicapped and elderly persons. After the resolution, the City asserted that Williams’s action was moot. The district court, however, disagreed, and the case continued.

Williams continued to conduct discovery for a number of reasons, one of which was to determine if the section 8 program adopted by the City was adequate. After completing the discovery process, Williams withdrew her claims regarding inadequacy of the program leaving the issue of attorney’s fees as the only matter for resolution. Williams then filed her motion for attorney’s fees on the ground that she was a “prevailing party” within the meaning of 42 U.S.C.A. § 1988, the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976. The district court ruled that Williams was not a prevailing party and denied attorney’s fees. The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision in Williams v. City of Fairburn, Georgia, 640 F.2d 635, 636 (5th Cir.1981), and held “that plaintiffs need not prevail in a trial on the merits to be [a] ‘prevailing part[y]’ within the meaning of the statute.” (Citation omitted.) The case was remanded to the district court for an award of reasonable attorney’s fees.

In making its determination of fees and costs, the district court denied approximately seventy-five percent (75%) of the requested attorney’s fees. Denied were: (1) all attorney’s time expended prior to October 2, 1978 (the date the City entered into the section 8 housing agreement with the county); (2) all paralegal time expended prior to October 9, 1978; (3) all costs advanced after October 9, 1978; (4) all attorney’s time expended after October 9, 1978; and (5) all attorney’s time expended after October 9, 1978, in litigating the attorney’s fees issue at trial and at the appellate level. In addition, the district court refused to apply a fifty percent (50%) multiplier. The district court .arrived at its decision by concluding that Williams only prevailed on a small portion of the issues presented, and thus, attorney’s fees should only be awarded on the successfully litigated issues. The court cited as support for its position Familias Unidas v. Briscoe, 619 F.2d 391, 406 (5th Cir.1980). We must determine whether the district court properly awarded Williams’s attorney’s fees under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fee Award Act of 1976.

There is no doubt that Williams, as a prevailing party, is entitled to attorney’s fees. Watkins v. Mobile Housing Board, 632 F.2d 565 (5th Cir.1980); Iranian Student’s Association v. Edwards, 604 F.2d 352, 353 (5th Cir.1979). The only question with which we are concerned is: How much is Williams entitled to receive? This question is answered by determining whether Williams achieved her primary objective during the course of this suit. To sufficiently address this question, we must examine the facts, the governing statutory framework, and the applicable case law. The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976 (Act) (amending 42 U.S.C.A. § 1988) (Act) provides that a court, in its discretion, may [976]*976allow a prevailing party reasonable attorney’s fees in actions brought under specific civil rights statutes and certain actions under the Internal Revenue Code. Iranian Student’s Association, 604 F.2d at 353; Morrow v. Dillard, 580 F.2d 1284, 1300 (5th Cir.1978). A condition precedent to an award of attorney’s fees under the Act is that the party prevail. Morrow, 580 F.2d at 1300. In the instant case, Williams is the prevailing party. See Williams v. City of Fairburn, Ga., 640 F.2d 635 (5th Cir.1981). In its order, the district court indicated that Williams “only prevailed on a small portion of the allegations and issues presented.” We disagree. Williams prevailed on the primary and ultimate issue presented, the creation of section 8 housing within the city limits. Her suit can be considered the catalyst which resulted in the October 9, 1978, agreement between the City and the Fulton County Housing Authority. Because she was the catalyst, she is a prevailing party within the meaning of the statute and supporting case law. We therefore hold that Williams is entitled to all attorney’s fees requested and costs incurred prior to October 9, 1978. We now turn our attention to those costs incurred after October 9, 1978, and fees requested for services rendered after that date.

The critical question in determining the attorney’s fees requested and costs for the period after October 9, 1978, is whether Williams prevailed on subsidiary issues. In short, did Williams, on behalf of a class, have to prevail on inextricably related issues in order to receive attorney’s fees for the period after October 9, 1978. We hold that she does not, particularly where she is acting on behalf of a class.

The statutory awarding of attorney’s fees should be accorded broad interpretation since the statute is remedial in nature.

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Bluebook (online)
702 F.2d 973, 1983 U.S. App. LEXIS 28792, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shelvia-williams-etc-v-the-city-of-fairburn-georgia-ca11-1983.